Scientists and policy experts of the Center for Inquiry, a leading science and secularist advocacy group, expressed cautious optimism about measures to combat climate change announced by President Obama in his Georgetown address Tuesday.

Physicist Mark Boslough, an expert on planetary catastrophes, characterized the president’s plan as “a modest step in the right direction,” saying, “As a scientist, I was delighted to hear the President embrace objective science and reject politically-motivated denial. He said it bluntly: ‘We don’t have time for a meeting of the Flat Earth Society,’ I hope this is a signal that the era of political correctness—giving equal weight to those who promote nonsense and dismiss fact-based science—is over.”

“The president emphasized that we have an imperative to act to both modify those activities that are driving climate change and also to pursue new scientific advances and new technologies that will lead us into a healthier energy future,” said Dr. Stuart Jordan, a former Senior Staff Scientist at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and science advisor to CFI. “The moral tone of President Obama’s speech was evident throughout,” said Dr. Jordan, characterizing the remarks as “generally balanced and realistic.”

Stuart Jordan and Mark Boslough are both Fellows of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, an affiliate of CFI.

“We are glad the president has constructed climate policies based on empirical evidence and scientific consensus, and we are heartened by his call to ‘speak up for the facts’,” said Michael De Dora, CFI’s Public Policy Director. “Unfortunately, the president can only do so much without cooperation from Congress, many of whose Members rely on conspiracy theories and superstition to shape their climate policies. We hope that the president will help to rally the American people to demand a truly comprehensive and reality-based solution to this crisis from their elected officials.”

CFI has been a strong advocate for climate and energy policies based on reason and science. To learn more about our stance on this issue, see our position paper on climate change, written by Dr. Jordan.

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The Center for Inquiry (CFI) is a nonprofit educational, advocacy, and research organization headquartered in Amherst, New York, with executive offices in Washington, D.C. It is also home to both the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and the Council for Secular Humanism. The mission of CFI is to foster a secular society based on science, reason, freedom of inquiry, and humanist values. CFI‘s web address is www.centerforinquiry.net.